State media broadcast Mr Dahlin's statement in a TV report on Tuesday night, which included the apparent confessions of two Chinese members of the group.

The Xinhua news agency also published a report online saying police had broken up an "illegal organization jeopardizing China's national security".

Peter Dahlin was arrested at Beijing airport as he was about to leave the country. The authorities could easily have just cancelled his visa after he had gotten on a plane, and ended the activities of Mr Dahlin and his NGO - the Chinese Urgent Action Working Group.

Instead they have decided to make a very public example of a Westerner who had ventured into the area of human rights. In particular Chinese state media is accusing Mr Dahlin of being a "plant" directed by what are described as "Western anti-China forces."

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In July, the Chinese authorities launched what appeared to be a widespread crackdown, when more than 280 human rights lawyers and activists - along with their associates - were summoned, detained or just disappeared. The arrests have been widely seen as the state's attempts to stifle dissent. ... "